The Quest of Five SYOC
by butterflygirly99
Summary: Follow the adventures of five new demigods, as they face the next great prophecy. SYOC CLOSED, but feel free to R&R!
1. Chapter 1

And now for a little intro to the story:**  
**

Riya's POV:

We all knew this was coming...another great prophecy, but none of us knew what it had in store for us. I was in the Zeus cabin, lost in thought, thinking about what was next for Camp. All of a sudden, I heard a whistle blow through my thoughts. My tea was done. Nothing like a cup of tea and a warm blanket to help make this hectic summer a little less stressful. I was a year round camper, so I have seen camp through the summer, fall, winter, and spring, but I must say, summers at camp are unbeatable. I couldn't stand just sitting around here in this room, I was a daughter of Zeus, so I needed freedom and space. Even with the size of my cabin, there was never enough room for me. I guess my claustrophobia might have something to do with it. Besides that, I would like to think that I am pretty fearless when it comes to taking risks. This tends to get me in trouble...a lot, but hey, you gotta have stories to tell the kids...right? I grabbed the tea kettle and poured some steaming hot tea into a tea cup and headed outside. It was already quite dark, yet I could see plenty of campers outside enjoying themselves. I pictured myself in their position. I envied them. Camp hadn't made me leader, it was more of a natural thing, I had always been a control freak, but this was more like a natural urge. I was a leader. I needed to lead this quest. But first, I needed to to figure out this prophecy.

_The Great Prophecy:_

_Five young demigods shall head west_

_A daughter of Zeus, will lead the quest,_

_They will persevere through sunshine and rain,_

_But a loved one must be lost with heartache and pain_

_If they succeed the reward will be plenty,_

_But if they fail, the consequences will be many_

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**A/N: So, for my latest story, I have decided to do a SYOC. I am looking for really unique and interesting and detailed demigods. As of now, I need four demigods-two boys and two girls, who will be added along side my character Riyanna "Riya" Carna, daughter of Zeus. This is based after the Giant War, after things have settled down. The plot is that another great prophecy is given, and now the five demigods must go on a quest to find something (I don't want to give too much away right now). Can't wait for your entries! And for the record, I know I am far from a good poet, but hey, every prophecy cannot be as good as Rick Riordan's.  
**

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Rules (I know we hate these, but they are a must!)

1. I know it's hard, but no Mary Sue or Gary Stu demigods.

2. As for your characters, I would like all entries by 1/17/14, and my decision will be made by 1/18/13.

3. You are aloud to submit as many characters as you like, as long as you do even genders. (i.e. Every new character you want to enter must be the opposite gender of the previous entry)

4. This is not a first come first serve, I will choose the additional characters based on how well their character is developed and thought out.

5. NOTE: I WILL ONLY ACCEPT CHARACTERS THROUGH PM!

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**Demigod Character Sheet:**

**Full Name:**

**Age:**

**Gender:**

**Appearance (Not everyone is a supermodel! Be realistic and descriptive!):**

**Godly Parent(Can be Greek or Roman, Major or minor):**

**Mortal Parent (Name, age, short bio)**

**Other Family (Name, age, relationship, short bio):**

**Personality (At least 1 well written paragraph):**

**Bio (Be creative, at least 1 well written paragraph):**

**Powers (max 3):**

**Hobbies:**

**Strengths (max 7):**

**Weakness(min 4):**

**Fears (at least 1):**

**Romance (yes/no):**

**Camp's opinion on your character:**

**Anything Else?:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here are your winners and the Five of the Quest:**

**Main Girls**

Riyanna "Riya" Carna, 15, Daughter of Zeus (my character)

Melody "Mel" Harper, 14, Daughter of Poseidon

Harlow Jones, 15, Daughter of Apollo

**Main boys**

Connor Jones, 16, Son of Hermes

Jericho "Jedd" MacinTyre, 16, Son of Aphrodite

**And here are you Recurring characters and the places they will show up in:**

**Recurring Girls**

Roxallene "Roxy" Zoe Hunter, 16, Unknown- 3-4 chapter arc

Cecilia "Ceci", 15, Daughter of Athena- 2-3 Chapter arc in the beginning and 1-2 chapter arc in the end+ scattered back at camp chapters

Mareen Finch, 17, Daughter of Nyx- 2-3 Chapter arc in the beginning and 1-2 chapter arc in the end+ scattered back at camp chapters

**Recurring Boys**

Chase Pavel Keldheart, 15, Son of Eris- 2-3 Chapter arc in the beginning and 1-2 chapter arc in the end+ scattered back at camp chapters

Cesar Augustus Jacobson, 17, Son of Hectate- 2-3 Chapter arc in the beginning and 1-2 chapter arc in the end+ scattered back at camp chapters

Ryan Blaze, 17, Son of Zeus - 2-3 Chapter arc in the beginning and 1-2 chapter arc in the end+ scattered back at camp chapters

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**A/N: The recurring characters will be the main characters of the "Back in Camp" chapters. They will feature the all characters that are not part of the 5. These characters will also pop up in random chapters through Iris message, ect. The "Back in Camp" chapters will be including a mini plot, so all the entries will be included. All though they will not be the focus of the story, they will be playing an important role. As for Roxy, due to her character, I felt that there was a different way to incorporate her into the story, so rather than have small parts through the beginning middle and end, she will have a small arc in the middle of the story, and will be one of the many things that the 5 meet. If you are interested in one of your characters having a mini arc midway through the quest, please PM me. Although the people who choose this path for their characters will have less chapters and appearances, they will interact with the 5 more, and be a bigger focus of those chapters. So thank you for all your support, ideas, and understanding. You have no idea what it means to me. I will be posting the first chapter soon. Maybe even tonight (wink, wink). I hope you enjoy this story and like the way I write your characters. I love all you guys so much and thank you for everything! Enjoy!**


	3. It take 5 to Quest

Riya's POV:

I heard giggles and good nights outside my cabin, as the door opened to reveal a very radiant-looking Ryan. It was late and night, and Ryan had finally come back from his date with his girlfriend Cecilia. Even though they were two years apart, they made such a great couple. He sat on the other side of the couch, facing me. The interior of the Zeus cabin looked like a large bank, rather than a cabin, but Ryan and I liked it this way. "So Mr. Hotshot, how was your date?" I asked as I sipped on the tea I still had. "Good, Cec is a sweetheart." Ryan replied. I always figured that he would end up with someone younger than him. He was so good with little kids, he would make and amazing dad one day. Even with his girlfriend, he was sweet and kind. But whenever with anyone else, Ryan was always Mr. tough guy. I was slightly less hardcore then him, but still tough none the less. Ryan was one of the few people I got along with really well with at camp. Perhaps it was the fact that we had the same father and so many similarities. Or perhaps I just like the feeling of having a sibling to talk to.

"So, about that prophecy..." I said my mind not wandering from the subject. "Who's going with me?" It was obvious that I would have to lead this quest, being the only current daughter of Zeus. "I'll come." Ryan offered with ease. "As much as I want that, I need you to hold down the fort." I said to him. I trusted that Ryan was a good enough leader to take care of camp. Plus, he was a son of Zeus, he'd be just fine. Plus, he'd have his converse-loving girlfriend for company. "Fine I'll stay, but only for Dylan's and Cecelia's sake." he said shaking his head. Dylan was Ryan's mini me. Dylan, the 9 year old son of Hermes, practically worshiped Ryan and followed him everywhere. Ryan had developed a soft spot for Dylan. I always believed that it was because Dylan reminded him of his sister who had died in a plane crash.

"I'll look around..." Ryan said thoughtfully. I could tell he was running through his mind possible candidates for the quest. He then got up and took my cup then said, "It's late Riya, we should go to sleep." I looked at him then with a little laugh replied, "I'm head councilor, so I officially ban curfew!" "Ok, Mz. Head Councilor, I will never go to sleep." he replied teasingly. Even as I spoke those words, my eyelids drooped with sleepiness. "See ya tomorrow, Blaze." I said as I turned of the last remaining light. "Goodnight, Riya." he mumbled back.

Surprisingly, I had a dreamless sleep. I had never slept so well in my life. Demigod dreams were never enjoyable. As I took a shower, got dressed, and headed towards the dining pavilion, I saw Ryan and Dylan talking near the Zeus table. "What's up guys!" I said as I ruffled Dylan's hair. "Hey Riya! Guess what, I lost a tooth!" he said showing me the gap in his mouth. "And more importantly, Dylan thinks he knows a few people you should take on your quest." Ryan said to me. I couldn't help but noticed the slight smile on his lips as he saw Dylan testing his other teeth for more loose ones. I keeled down so Dylan and I were eye to eye, "So sweetie, who do you think I should take on my quest?" I asked smiling at him kindly. "Well, my big brother Connor, is really super cool. And he said that his sister and her best friend could come with you on your quest. Can I come with you? I want to be a hero just like Ryan when I grow up." Dylan said with a toothless grin. Connor...I knew exactly who he was. He was probably flirting with some unsuspecting Aphrodite girl right now. I mentally rolled my eyes then said, "Thank you, Dylan. But this quest is for big kids. But I promise that one day, you will be a big hero...like Ryan." I added with a wink in Ryan's direction. "Then take Connor with you. Promise me." he said pleading with his big blue eyes. I sighed, I knew I was going to regret this, "Ok, I promise." I said. I then figured I might as well take his sister, Harlow, and her friend Melody along to. I knew Harlow and Melody, I had seen them around camp here and there, and knew that they were decent fighters and they seemed nice. No...for that 5th member of our team.

Lost in though, I bumped in to somebody. "Oh, sorry..." I said trailing off as I picked up the waffle I had dropped and passed him his plate. He grabbed his plate then said, "T-t-t-thanks...I-I-I gotta go now!" he said dashing away immediately. I looked down and saw he had dropped his apple. "Hey you forgot your apple!" I called out after him. He just kept walking. So, I followed him...all the way to the Aphrodite table? No, this couldn't right. A shy child of Aphrodite? I handed him his apple then said, "You should wash that first." He just nodded with no reply. I then thought to myself, what the heck, a shy child of Aphrodite, you don't see that everyday, I guess that makes him out 5th member. "Hey, how do you feel about going on a quest?"

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**A/N: So what do you think? I tried to get in as many characters as I could. Anybody not mentioned in this chapter will be in the next. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think. And thanks to everyone for submitting characters!**


	4. 5 Questmates, No Quest

Riya's POV:

I still couldn't believe I was asking some random stranger to join me on this quest. I guess it just goes to show you how desperate I was to get this part over with and finally start the quest. Or perhaps I was strategizing, new blood in a group with a lot of connections, can act like the glue of the group. Yep, that was it, I needed glue. "So, are you in?" I asked the boy who was still not making eye contact with me. I could tell he was about to shake his head no, but out of now where, one of his siblings whispered something incomprehensible into his ear, causing him to finally speak to me. "Ok, I'll come." He then turned back to his food as if nothing had ever happened.

I smiled. Questmates…check! Leader…check! Quest…check! Wait a minute…I had been so caught up in trying to fulfil this prophecy, I had forgotten to ask Chiron, what exactly our quest was for. I remember Chiron calling me to the big house to discuss the prophecy, during our discussion, he told me, that he had a strong hunch as to what the prophecy was referring to. After I sat down and finished eating, I decided to ditch my Greek lessons, and head to the Big House to talk to Chiron. I mean I had been a year round camper here since I was 10. I could now speak Greek fluently without any trouble at all, so I'm pretty sure Chiron would not mind me ditching, for the first time in my life.

"Ah, hello Roya Curna… Chiron, that annoying Zeus girl is here to talk to you." A lazy voice called out. "Hello Mr. D, It's Riya Carna, and for the record, I don't think Zeus would be happy that you called his daughter annoying." I said to him. "Whatever Riva Karma…" A very grumpy Mr. D said to me. I soon heard a trotting noise come towards me, and soon, I saw the face that matched it. "Hello Riya, you look well, I suppose you have come to ask me what my suspicions are." Chiron said to me with a kind smile. "Yeah, that's exactly why I'm here." I replied a little surprised at how easily he could tell what was going on. "Well, I believe that the first ever Persephone demigod, we believe her name is Calla Aura, and for the first time in 13 years, she has been discovered." Chiron said with a grave look on his face. At first I could not understand why this was news. New demigods popped up all the time. Then it hit me…Hades. Of course, Hades would not like his immortal wife having a demigod child. Hades was a rather "possessive" god, if I did say so myself. I nodded then said, "So, our quest is to find her before Hades, or someone or something else does."

The rest of my conversation with Chiron was mostly about strategies and idea about where she might be. We had narrowed it down to four places: New York City, New York, Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles, California. We figured that New York would be a good place to start because it was the closest large city to camp. Next up was Orlando, we figured that this would be a good place to search, because this was where Calla was born and the current home of Jackson Aura, Calla's dad, next was Las Vegas, the Lotus Casino was a popular hiding place for Hades, so we figured it would be a good idea to search there, and finally, there are two entrances to the Underworld in LA, DOA Studios and the Hollywood sign, so it seemed like an obvious choice to search their too. I figured that I better go tell my other quest mates the news, and explain to them the scenario.

I decided it would be rather wise to start with the most annoying one first. So, first up, Connor Jones. I dreaded talking to him…as far as I was concerned, he was arrogant and full of himself. But, a promise is a promise, even if it was to a toothless 9 year old.

I saw Connor and his two best friends Chase and Cesar in the distance. They were known as the 3C's of Horror by the rest of camp. All three of them together was a recipe for trouble, a son of Hermes plus a son of Eris plus a son of Hecate just equaled Trouble with a capital T. Chase's mother was Eris, the goddess of discord, so he could cause trouble in his sleep, Cesar on the other hand was more mellow, yet he was good with magic. The three of them together led to major pranks. Connor would come up with the ideas, Cesar would build/create whatever they needed, and Chase would put the whole thing together. They were good friends, and always had each other's back, and for that, I had a slight bit of respect for them. But ever since they dyed my hair blonde, while I was sleeping, I have wanted to murder them every time I saw them.

As I approached them, Chase came up to me then stared at me and tilted his head then said, "Huh, you you better blonde." I gave him my signature evil glare then said, "Maybe…but I think I look best when killing demigods who dye my hair blonde." I said glaring at him as my electric blue eyes practically cackled with anger. I pushed him aside then said, "Connor, I need to talk to you privately."

"Oh, so you finally want to get with all of this." Connor said to me wiggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at him then said, "No, I promised Dylan that I'd take you with me on my quest." I said with a heavy sigh. "The big blue eyes…" he said as I nodded. "The toothless grin." He stated as I said, "Yep." He winked at me then said, "Well, I can indeed confirm you have a high case of Dylanitis." I rolled my eyes then said, "Well Dr. Connor, since I'm obligated to take you, I wanted to know if I could take your sister and Melody." He thought for a minute then said, "Sure, but you better go talk to them first."

"Thanks? After you finish packing, meet me at my cabin at 5:00 for a group discussion." I said not really sure how to respond. Just as I was about to leave, Chase called after me and said, "Look at your hair darling." I looked at the tips of my hair…it was pink…WHAT IN HADES! Those idiots had dyed the tips of my hair PINK while I was talking to Connor. I turned around to see Cesar holding a bottle of pink hair dye and Chase's hand with faint pink stains. Cesar looked at me slightly apologetically, but I could still see that there was a slight smirk of satisfaction placed upon his face. "How in Hades did you manage produce a bottle of pink hair dye out of nowhere?" I asked furious. "Son of Hecate…goddess of magic…" Cesar said to me in a matter-of-fact voice. I sneered at him then stalked off. Before I talked to Harlow and Melody, I needed to wash my hair.

After 6 washes, this stupid pink stuff was not coming out. I had to find a solution to this. Then an extremely crazy idea struck me…the Aphrodite Cabin. They dealt with hair issues…right? I threw on a navy blue hoodie and threw the hood over my head to hide my hair, and swiftly made my way over to the Aphrodite Cabin. I knocked on the door, and to my surprise, the boy who I had invited on the quest with me, opened the door. When he realized it was me, he slammed the door in my face. Talk about a whole new level of shy. I knocked on the door again, this time to be opened by the current Aphrodite head counciler, Juliet Jasmine Jacobson.

Juliet, who looked like a supermodel as always, and opened up the door to me quickly. "Hi Riya! What brings you to the Aphrodite cabin?" she asked in a bubbly voice. "This." I said as I threw of my hood, revealing my dark brown hair with the horrible pink tips. "OMG! You wanted to show me your absolutely fabulous new hair! I am so happy you decided to finally get fashionable!" an extremely happy Juliet said to me with a sparkly white grin. "Actually, I needed a way to get rid of it." I said to her with a weak grin. "Awww, why would you do that?" she asked me with her green-blue eyes pleading at me to change my mind. "Because it's pink, and it's horrible." I said without the slightest bit of pity. "Oh ok, I guess I can find something." She replied with a little pout. "So, what's up with your brother?" I asked her curious to know more about this shy Aphrodite kid. "Oh, you mean Jedd. He is a total sweetheart once you get to know him, he just needs to break out of his shell." She explained to me. Her perfectly manicured hands glided over the assorted bottles quickly. Her hand finally landed over a light blue and silver circular shaped vial. "This should do the trick!" Juliet said as she opened the vial and poured it's entire contents over my hair. "Ummm, what exactly is this supposed to do?" I asked nervous as to what this liquid on my hair was. "Oh it's a good hair day potion, it turns any hair into a perfection." She said with a grin as the silver liquid swirled around my hair creating a curtain of silverness around my head. Juliet then took a towel and wiped my hair down, leaving my hair shiny and smooth, and best of all, without any pink tips!

Just as I was about to leave, I noticed Jedd. He was staring at me as if he was trying to read me. Then out of nowhere he asked me, "Why me?" I assumed he was talking about the quest so I replied, "Well, first off, I have never met a shy Aphrodite kid, so that was interesting. Plus with all the craziness of the other questmates, I needed somebody to act as the glue…the person who keeps the whole mission together. I felt that some new blood could do that best." I replied to him as I picked up my bag and opened up the door. "Thanks…" he said with looking at the floor. "No problem, and just FYI, we are leaving tomorrow morning, so you better get packing. Meet me at the Zeus cabin at 5:00 for our team meeting." I said to him as I closed the door and took a deep breath.

Next, was Harlow and Melody. Harlow was Connor's sister, not through the godly side, but actually through the mortal side. They shared the same mortal mother, but while Connor's father was Hermes, Harlow's father was Apollo. Melody on the other hand, was Harlow's best friend on the planet. Melody, better known as Mel, was a total darling. She was very kind and nice to everyone, but, she is also rather shy, which balances out Harlow's personality. While Mel is more laid back and shy, Harlow is more "in-your-face" and is not afraid to tell someone exactly what she thinks of them.

Melody and Harlow were hanging out near the Poseidon cabin, eagerly discussing something, like best friends do. Mel was a daughter of Poseidon, so it seemed obvious that they would hang out there. I had always secretly loved the water, swimming, surfing, anything along those lines, but I dared not let my dad ever know that. Upon my arrival, they immediately stopped talking, and turned their attention to me. "Hey Riya!" Harlow said to me with a wide grin. "I can't believe you choose us for the quest! That is really cool of you." She said to me excitedly. From Harlow, that is a pretty huge compliment. "Wait, how did you know? I just told Connor the news less than an hour ago." I said. "Well, put it this way…he is my brother, and his father is the god of communication, so word travels fast." She said as she pushed her frizzy sun-bleached brown hair behind her ear. Melody smiled at me then said, "Connor ran over here and back, then told us." She explained. "Mel, don't ruin the mystery!" Harlow pouted with fake annoyance. I just shook my head then said, "So, I'm assuming you guys are in…so far it's you, Mel, Connor, Jedd, and me." I said to Harlow simply. "Jedd…" Mel asked in confusion, as if she had never heard of him before. "It's that shy Aphrodite kid." Harlow explained for me. "Oh, that kid… he seems nice?" Mel said with a nervous smile. I gave her a reassuring nod then said, "You guys better get packing, we are leaving tomorrow and we have a long journey ahead of us. Meet me at my cabin at 5:00 for a team meeting, after that, first stop, New York City."

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**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It took me forever to write! What do you think of the quest idea? I was my twin brother's so kudos to him. Also I included all the entries so far accept for Maureen and Roxy whom I have other plans for. If you haven't noticed, all my chapter titles are going to include the number 5, and the word quest. Also, all the cities actually have a personal connection to me. NYC is where my niece was born, Orlando is where I was born, Las Vegas was where the I had all my dad's immediate family in one place for the first time, and LA is the closest big city to where I live. (It's only 30 minutes away! And even better, Disneyland is only 15 minutes away!) Please Review and tell me what you think!**


	5. 5:00 Quest

Riya's POV:

The day had gone by quicker than I had expected. I had skipped the rest of my classes to prepare for my quest. I dug out my favorite backpack and filled it with all the equipment a girl could ever need: extra nectar, ambrosia, a spare pair of clothes, some toiletries, a pouch of drachmas, a prism for Iris messages, a blanket, a bag of non-perishable food, some water bottles, about $200 in mortal money, and a spare jacket for emergencies. It was basic quest items, nothing to fancy, yet I had the feeling I was missing something.

I fiddled with my Camp Half-Blood necklace. Although it already had 5 beads on it, it also had a my mother's wedding ring, a sapphire pendant—a gift from my best friend who had died in the Giant war, and a tiny lightning bolt—it was a real bolt, given to me personally by my dad when I was a baby. If a normal person was to wear it, they would die from shock, with the blood of Zeus in me, it gave me energy and helped me relax when I was nervous.

I laid down on my bed looking at the marble ceiling of my cabin. I was really nervous about this quest. There was no guarantee that I would come back safe and sound. For that matter, what if we failed? The prophecy was clear in saying that bad things would happen if we did not succeed. For once, a prophecy was actually clear about something, sadly, it wasn't exactly a good thing.

I soon heard a knock on my door. I guessed it was Melody, I looked at my clock. It read 4:43. Mel seemed like the girl to show up early. To my surprise, I opened the door to Connor. "You're early…" I said distastefully to him. "Well, hello to you too. And I'm having a wonderful day, thanks for asking!" Connor said ignoring my statement. He sat down on my bed without asking then said, "So what's the plan, sweetheart?" All I could do to prevent myself from slapping him was to sit down on my hands. "I'm waiting for the others. No special privileges for you." I said crossly. I had no idea how I was going to get through this quest with him. "So what do you want to do while we wait?" He asked mischievously. "Your fault for showing up early." I said annoyed. "Wanna make out with me?" he asked innocently. "WHAT IN HADES!? THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD EVER DO THAT!" I screamed at him. And this time, it took every inch of self-control in me not to slap him. "Okay, okay, just a suggestion…" he said raising his hands in surrender. I prayed to the gods to get me out of this situation, and just then I heard a knock on the door.

I silently thanked the gods, and ran to the door quicker than you can say my full name. To my happiness, it was Harlow and Mel. I quickly welcomed them in with a warm smile. "Hey! Why are you nice to them?" Connor complained crossing his arms. "Because they don't ask me to make out with them." I said with as much contempt put into those words as I could. "You did not ask Riya to make out with you." Harlow said raising an eyebrow. "He did." I confirmed. "I still don't get what the big deal is?" He muttered making a face at Harlow. Now I was seriously regretting agreeing to take him on this quest. Finally, Mel spoke up and said, "Well then, where's our 5th member?" she asked calmly. She had no idea how happy I was that she was coming on this quest. I needed my girl backup.

"He said he'd be here." I replied regaining my composure. Just then, I heard another knock at the door. I assumed it was Jedd, and opened the door to him. He walked in without a word, and sat next to Connor on my bed. I figured those two would get along just peachy. "Ok, so here's the plan." I said as I handed out maps to the other four. I had used Daedalus's laptop to create them a research the information we needed. Annabeth Chase had donated it to the Camp Half-Blood library so more campers like me could have access to it.

As the others opened up their maps I explained, "So our route is: NYC, Orlando, Las Vegas, then Los Angeles. Our basic quest is to find Calla Aura, the first ever demigod of Persephone. The reason for finding her should be obvious. We have to get to her before Hades or a monster. We don't have a time limit, but if we do fail, according to the prophecy, things will not end up well. Any questions?" They all nodded at me with understanding, except for Connor who raised his hand then asked, "So, would you at least admit I'm attractive?" I glared at him then said, "You didn't hear a word I said…did you?" He sheepishly shook his head no. "No ma'am, I did not." Harlow looked at me apologetically as she elbowed Connor in the ribs. She whispered something to him then he said, "No, questions. I understand everything." I nodded my head choosing to ignore his earlier comment, and then said, "Good. We will meet tomorrow morning, we will figure out our mode of transportation there. I was thinking the Grey Sister's taxi, but let me know if you have a better idea."

Jedd shyly raised his hand then said, "I think I have a better idea…" I grinned then said, "What is it?" He looked at the four of us then said, "Everybody be ready by 5:00 tomorrow morning and meet me at the entrance to camp. We have a love goddess to summon."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I just really wanted to get this in so I can finally start writing the quest and the back in camp chapters. What did you think? What is Jedd's plan? Will Connor finally stop being a flirt? Will Riya ever chill out? Will Mel ever become more dominant? Will Harlow ever leave her brother alone? All these questions and more will be answered in the next episode of: The Quest of 5! And cue catchy theme music. Lol, sorry, I just had to write that. But seriously, if anybody has a theme song for this story, please let me know, I'd love to hear :D R&R!


	6. A 5 MPG Quest

Riya's POV:

As confused as I was, I decided it was best just to trust Jedd, and go with whatever plan he had in mind. I figured it was probably best to go to sleep early, and try to get as much sleep as I could. I was far from a morning person.

The next morning came way too quickly. My alarm clock that I had set for 4:00 began to beep loudly. I heard Ryan let out a sleepy and irritated groan. I whispered a quick apology, and then sluggishly got out of bed. I splashed a handful of freezing cold water on my face, instantly making me more alert. I turned on the shower and stepped in. I wasn't sure when my next shower would be, so I was careful to make this one long. I got dressed into my quest gear: jeans, my newly washed camp tee shirt, my favorite leather jacket, and a pair of converse. I had decided to pack my combat boots in the "spare stuff" section of my bag. Too sleepy to actually brush my hair, I did my hair into a quick, messy bun, to keep my long hair out of my face. I looked at my clock: 4:43 am. I was surprised at how quickly I was ready. I would actually have time to grab a quick breakfast.

I quickly headed to the dinning pavilion, where I noticed a familiar face.

"Hey sweetheart, you are up early." A smug Connor said.

"I wonder why?" I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're bed head looks wonderful, darling…" he said mocking me.

"Let me make this simple for you. I am not a morning person. Do not call me darling or sweetheart or anything along those lines. And if you push me, I am far from afraid to bite your head off." I said smiling sweetly.

He just rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"Honey, you are a hopeless case."

I just looked at him with a pissed off glare, and he immediately shut up and sat down. I looked down at my watch. It read 4:49. I decided that I'd better eat fast; I had to meet Jedd in about 10 minutes! I grabbed an apple, picked up a whole grain waffle, and swallowed down some soy milk. Some Demeter kid had dared me to eat a healthy breakfast for a whole week, and the habit just stuck with me. Now I tended to be kinda a health nut: limited dairy, only whole wheat grains, and only white meat. When I was done, I stood up. Ignoring the fact that Connor was still sitting there, I turned on my heel, and took my leave.

I saw Jedd at the entrance to camp. Along with him were Mel and Connor. How in Hades did he get here before me? I hate Hermes's kids' super speed. I saw Harlow jog up to us happily. How could someone look so cheery at 5:00 am when the sun was barely rising? I had noticed that she had too, decided to go with the messy bun style. I was still confused by her happy disposition, then it hit me like a lightning bolt, she's Apollo's kid. Harlow must adore sunrise.

"Hey guys! I just came back from my jog. I ate great breakfast, so I'm ready to go when you are." An extremely energetic Harlow said to the group.

The rest of us looked to her with sleepy eyes and exhausted expressions.

"Well somebody's perky!" Connor said brotherly yet mocking tone.

Finally, Jedd spoke up.

"So, basically, we have to summon Aphrodite." Jedd said still leaving us confused.

"Well, duh, we want to know why." Harlow said looking at him with an annoyed expression. Well her happiness lasted long…

"You'll see…" He said as he looked at the rising sun. "Okay, now I will start."

Jedd took out a small pink vial labeled in big bold letters: FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY! XOXOXO. LOVE MOM. I guessed it was a present from his mother, but you could never be sure with the gods. Jedd popped off the cork the poured half of its contents on to the floor in front of him. The pink puddle on the floor began to ooze and bubble as pink cloud of magic began swirling into a figure. Soon, the pink cloud faded, revealing the most drop dead gorgeous woman I had ever seen. I had never seen somebody who looked so perfect…so flawless in my life. I dared turn my eyes away from this beautiful woman, only to see Jedd unfazed by the effect of her presence. The woman snapped her fingers, and then as if she had snapped us out of a trance, everybody blinked then went back to normal.

"Hello, my dears, and Jedd, you have grown so tall since I've last seen you! I am Aphrodite, my lovelies, but by your expressions, I guess you already knew that!" she squealed clapping her hands together.

I looked at Jedd then said, "Ummm…Jedd…don't you have something to ask your mother…"

He looked at me embarrassed then said, "Mom, I need to borrow Amor Currum."

The words sounded familiar. I was pretty sure it was Latin. I tried to figure it out I knew Amor meant love, but I couldn't remember what Currum meant…oh I know cucumber! Love Cucumber…nevermind, I thought to myself with a mental giggle at what I had translated…well mistranslated. Whatever…that's what a Greek demigod with dyslexia gets for trying to learn Latin…a Love Cucumber.

"Oh, you need the Love Chariot." The goddess said with a wink in my direction. "Well, I am certainly not going to give it to you for free…how about a trade?"

"A trade for what?" Mel asked, finally speaking up.

"Oh, darling, isn't it obvious? A makeover! I have never seen such a rag tag group of Quest takers or going on a quest people…or whatever you demigods call yourself these days. I see a make-up-a-tunity!"

"A what now?" Harlow asked perplexed.

"You know, an opportunity for a makeover." She explained with a wide grin. "So which one of you lucky demigods will it be?"

Although I gagged at the thought of makeup, we did need some form of transportation, so I looked at my group then said, "Fine. Makeover it is, but only if you swear on the River of Styx to give us the Love Chariot with no hidden conditions or strings attached."

"Fine…" she pouted, but then raised her right hand and said, "I, Aphrodite, swear on the River of Styx to give them the Love Chariot with no hidden conditions or strings attached blah blah blah. Can we do the makeover now?"

Thunder boomed in the background so I said, "Okay fine, you can do the makeover now. Bu please be nice, and don't go overboard." I felt a little embarrassed doing this, but I could tell that all the others were protesting, especially Jedd, whom I'm surprised, managed to actually argue with me. He really must not have wanted a makeover. As leader, you sometimes have to take one for the team, even if it included eye gloss and lip shadow. Or is is eye shadow and lip gloss… maybe I should have paid more attention at the Aphrodite Cabin's free beauty seminar…

"Come darling…you have so much potential! I'm so glad you volunteered!" The love goddess said taking my arm. I could tell Connor was holding back snickers, so I turned to him and said,

"One comment out of you and you will wish you had never been born."

"I'll take my chances." He replied with an annoying smirk.

Aphrodite magically made a curtain appear and pulled me behind it. She then whispered to me, "So, your boyfriend, Connor, is going to totally love you after this makeover!" she said. "Ahhh, young romance!"

"What in Hades! There is now way that Connor Jones is my boyfriend. I can barely stand him, much less date him!" I exclaimed. What in Tartarus was this goddess thinking?

"Love can be an interesting thing, and since I've taken a liking to you, I'm going to be making your love life buckets of fun. Doesn't that sound great?" she said perkily, as she started magically trying different hairstyles on me.

"Umm, thanks but no thanks. I can do without the guys. Wait a minute. Can they hear us on the other side of this curtain?" I asked just realizing they might have overheard everything.

"No of course not, silly! It's magic. So, I'm thinking of adding black and caramel streaks in your hair…" she said as my hair magically added perfect black streaks with caramel undertones. "Perfect! Now on to make up." She snapped her fingers and a pink tote bag appeared in midair. She opened up the bag and took out a handful of products.

I winced as she attacked me with the eye blush and the mascara liner. Hmmm, that doesn't sound right either, oh well.

"Eye blush and mascara liner…really darling? Is that your makeup IQ? For such a smart girl, I am surprised you are so clueless in the Aphrodite department." She said with a pitiful laugh, as she read my mind.

"Aphrodite department?" I asked slightly confused as to what she was referring to.

"You know love, beauty, ect." She replied nonchalantly as she took out a bottle of nail polish.

"No, no nail polish. That is where I draw the line. That stuff lasts for months!" I said crossing my arms and shuddering in fear.

"No nail polish, no Love Chariot." She replied evenly.

I gave her the worst look of distaste I possibly could, then uncrossed my arms and loosed up my fingers, silently.

She did my nails quickly then said, "You look lovely darling, now for those horrible clothes. Don't you have anything else?"

I looked down at my jeans. They were free of bloodstains so that was a plus, but they weren't exactly "haute couture". Hey…so I do remember something from that seminar I went too. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back then said, "Will sweat pants work?"

"Uh, no. Let's try this." She said pulling out a green tank top and a pair of very expensive looking designer skinny jeans. "You can keep the jacket. It's surprisingly trendy."

"Well yeah, Juliet gave it to me for my birthday." I said explaining why I had this jacket. At first I hated it, but the more I wore, the more it became a part of me. Sadly, I would never admit to Juliet that she was right and I was wrong. It was one of my fatal flaws. A lot of people thought that I was very lucky. Great sword fighter, decent with a bow and arrow, I was quite smart, a Daughter of Zeus, ect…but with all that power, came a price. My payment was three fatal flaws. Most people only have one fatal flaw, and some other minor flaws, and aren't "good at everything". Me, on the other hand, to make up for the fact that I was good at a lot of things, the Fates decided that to balance out my powers, I needed more flaws, hence the fact that I have three as a opposed to one. My flaws were simple, yet very powerful and could make me do crazy things sometimes, and put me in plenty of not-so-fun situations. I am prideful. I am a control freak. I am a risk taker.

I was about to question how to change, but she snapped her fingers again, but this time I was wearing the clothes she had picked out, and holding my old clothes. I planned on changing the minute she left. Though I had to admit, she had done a pretty good job. I actually looked quite pretty. But, I was too prideful to ever actually admit that to her, so I said, "Are we done now?" Yep, there goes my pride…I really need to work on that. The last thing I need is to die because I didn't say: thank you.

"One last touch." She said as she opened up a small box, that she had taken from the tote bag. She took out something then handed it to me. "For your necklace…another bead to add…so you will always remember that I am going to make your love life buckets of fun."

I took the bead she had given me, in my hand, then untied my necklace and slipped it on. It was a pink crystal bead with a ruby red heart in the center. She then said, "Good luck on your quest, Riya. You are going to need it."

Aphrodite then snapped her fingers for the final time and disappeared with her curtain and tote bag, leaving me standing there alone. I walked back to my quest mates, and then said, so where is the Love Chariot?"

"Hey guys…I think I found it." Mel called out. She and Jedd, had apparently been looking around for it. The Love Chariot was nothing like I had expected. It was an electric yellow Ferrari with sleek doors and smooth paint.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not a chariot, it's a Ferrari." I said slightly freaked out by this strange car/chariot thing.

"Really? Are you sure? It looks more like a magical hoverboard thing." Connor said equally confused.

"Jedd, please enlighten us on this situation." Harlow said. I assumed she had seen something different from Connor and I too.

"Well, it's simple. The Love Chariot is created by a form of the mist that can create a live object. The chariot, in this case, turns into the viewer's dream form of transportation. That is why you see different things. Oh and there is one condition that comes with it no matter what. Only a person with the blood of Aphrodite can drive it, or someone who is deeply in love with a child of Aphrodite." Jedd explained. He seemed so comfortable talking to us. He then apparently realized he had actually talked more than 2 sentences, so he immediately cowered into the shelter of the chariot.

"I call shotgun!" Mel called out.

I wondered what Mel saw. But as I stepped into what I thought was the passenger seat of a two-seater Ferrari, the car immediately stretched into a cozy five-seater, squishing me between Connor and Harlow.

"I almost forgot. When you sit in the car, it turns into whatever the driver wants it to be." Jedd said in response, to our still confused faces.

As Jedd started the car, I was very relieved that magic had no driving age. I guessed that was around 16, so he probably had some idea how to drive, but at this point, I couldn't care less if 14 year old Mel was driving. I just wanted to change out of these jeans. Man, were they skinny! I knew that if we were lucky, we could be in NYC in less than 15 minutes, but then again they were always complications. Why did quests have to be so complicated? Why couldn't we just put all the monsters permanently in cages, put a GPS on all demigods so we could easily find them, and then get rid of all the god's egos. Now, wouldn't that be just peachy!

I was really glad that my crew had decided not to make any comments on my new appearance. I guess they all knew me well enough to know that they were better off leaving me alone. I was especially happy that Connor actually listened to me, and made no comments. Oops, I spoke to soon…

"So, how was your makeover?" Connor asked me. "But in my opinion, Chase is right, you make a better blonde."

"Shut up." I said crossing my arms. "Harlow, please change seats with me."

"In your wildest dreams…I deal with Connor enough at home. It's your turn now." She replied with a giggle.

Mel turned back from the front seat the commented, "Well, you three look cozy."

"Very funny, Mel." I said sarcastically.

"You're just lucky you called shotgun." Harlow complained. "Can this thing go any faster? And why can't you dream up a bigger car?" she asked Jedd.

"Trust me, we are going at 5 mpg. It's as fast as it's going to go. And I don't like big cars!" Jedd replied to her.

"5 miles per gallon? That's not a measurement of how fast we are going." Harlow said a little disappointed that he couldn't make the car bigger.

"Actually its 5 miles per god-second. Trust me we are going fast." Jedd replied as if it was obvious.

"Oh, ok." Harlow said relaxing and leaning back squishing my elbow into Connor's gut. A god-second meant we traveling 5 miles for every 12 normal seconds. The god timing system isn't exactly scientific if you know what I mean...

"Hey! Quit jabbing my rib cage." Connor said in protest.

"Well why don't you get your rib cage out of my elbow!" I yelled.

"Not possible…idiot!" He said with a sneer.

"Okay that's it. Idiot is the final straw!" I said as I gave him one solid punch in his arm.

"Chill out you guys! The last thing we need is to be enemies with each other. Riya keep your hands to yourself and Connor, stop being annoying. And stop acting like little kids. You are 15 and 16 years old for the love of Juno." Jedd said calmly like an adult. Who knew such a quiet guy was such a diplomat. Jedd was really surprising me.

"Fine." I said grumpily. "I-am-sorry." I spat at him. "For the record, I'm turning 16 in January!"

"What-ever." He replied rubbing his arm. Yikes, I punched him a lot harder then I meant to. Oh well, that was you get for messing with Riyanna Mary Carna.

"Guys, I think we're here." Mel said quietly hoping to avoid conflict with us.

"Mel's right…" Jedd said bringing the car to a halt, and parking it on the curb.

I stepped out of the car. We were in NYC, Times Square to be exact. It was almost 6:30, and it was already crowded with workers hustling and bustling past us. And for once, I didn't feel out of place. I knew that we now had to look for Calla, but I couldn't help, but to want to explore a little.

"Well, maybe we should split up…so we can look for Calla more effectively." Mel suggested with a shrug.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea." Harlow said agreeing with her best friend.

"Ok, so maybe we should split up Connor you and I go together, and then the girls can all go together." Jedd said to all of us.

"Sounds good to me." I said. This would be a good chance to get to know Mel and Harlow better. After all, I only knew them as well as you know the ABCs backwards. I know the letters, and I could probably figure out the order, but who has the time? Anyways, back to business…

"Okay so we look around in buildings and ask anybody if they have seen a young thirteen year old girl wandering around looking for something." I said explaining to my group the plan. "Meet back at the car at 12:00 for lunch. If you run into trouble, and for whatever reason can't meet at twelve, leave something…a symbol at the last place you were, and we will do our best to find you. Okay?"

They all nodded in agreement and understanding.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find ourselves a Calla Aura!"

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**A/N: So did you like this? I was so proud of myself, over 3k words! So I have couple questions for you guys: 1. What do you think of my cover image? It has all the words I thought were important to this story and turned it into a storm cloud! And 2. Who do you want to face the first monster attack of the quest? The boys or the girls? Keep a look out this weekend for more chapters! My goal is to add two more chapters by Sunday night!**


	7. Backstory 1

**A/N: I've noticed that a lot of you guys have had a bunch of questions lately, so here are the answers to all your questions:**

**Q: How are Connor and Harlow related?**

**A: Well, as much as I'd like to explain it to you now, it will be taken in to more depth, the further we go into the story. But basically, they have the same mom, but different godly parents. (Will be explained in the next bonus chapter)**

**Q: Will the whole story be told from Riya's POV?**

**A: No. The first few chapters were told from her POV, because she is my OC, so she is the easiest POV to write from, until I get more comfortable with the other characters. More POVs will appear very, very soon.**

**Q: Mel and Jedd or Harlow and Jedd?**

**A: As if I'm going to tell you...what fun would that be? *inserts evil laugh***

**Q: When will the next bonus chapter be?**

**A: When I feel like I need to answer your questions and give you something to read when I have writer's block and ect…**

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Bonus Story #1: Riya's Backstory

Excerpt from _The Golden State Daily Newspaper _

A New Baby Carna?

By: Amy Shay, Intern

_Los Angeles resident and breakout star, 18-year-old Ariel Carna, has given birth to a baby girl. The father's identity is unknown and this star is not giving anything away. Ariel is the current lead of RAC's newest comedy and drama, Sky's the Limit. Ariel played the role of Catherine Sky, the young highschooler with the ability to fly. The young actress's recent disappearance and abrupt season ending of the show has cause chaos and confusion. Recently, reports of sightings of the young actress with a baby bump, and these reports were confirmed, when she checked into the hospital this morning and has officially given birth. From our trustworthy sources, we can indeed confirm that Mz. Carna, will be returning to showbiz, and will perhaps shed a little more light on this situation. As for other news, on the baby daddy, from our sources we have heard news of the baby girl having shocking electric blue eyes, perhaps this can clue us into the father, as we all know that Ariel has soft hazel eyes. Send us in who you think the father of Ariel's baby is. As of now, all we can do is hope for Ariel and her new daughter's well-being._

1 year later…

"Hello, Ladies and gentleman, here tonight we have the ever beautiful, Ariel Carna…" Max Habits said with a big smile plastered on his face as he waved to the large, swarming crowd.

"Thanks, so much Max! It is lovely to be back. My daughter is doing great, and the next season of Sky's the Limit will be on tonight!" Ariel said with a dazzling smile. The crowd erupted with cheers at this news.

"So, to get down to the hard questions: Who is your daughter's father? Are you getting married? Please shed some light on this situation for us. We are all dying to know…" Max asked her.

Ariel stiffened slightly, but almost immediately relaxed, "Well, as much as I love my fans, some things are just private…but I promise you that he is a great man. But you know, it didn't end up working out, so it's just me and my daughter, but everything is great."

The crowd and Max gasped in surprised at this new information; it even took Max a few seconds to regain his composure. "Well, then, so what is your baby girl's name? Can we at least know that?"

"Of course, her name is Riyanna Mary Carna."

Later that night…

Ariel could be seen leaving the studio, as, she walked straight into the nearest bar. She was happy that she hadn't shared Riya's special nickname…not with anyone. She didn't need to be exposed to this showbiz, Ariel thought to herself. She noticed the bartender come by.

"Give me something strong, and a lot of it…it's been a really stressful night."

8 years later…

Excerpt from _The Golden State Daily Newspaper. Online Edition_

_Goodbye, Ariel Carna_

By: Amy Shay-Carson, Head of Writing and Staff

_Today, a great tragedy has occurred. Actress and beloved mother, Ariel Carna, has been proclaimed dead, at 9:09 pm, last night. Ariel has left her 9-year-old daughter everything, until further notice. The cause of this accident is intoxicated driving. Ariel, was declared as extremely drunk at the time of the incident, which is mostly like the main cause of this accident. This news was shocking to all. The young actress seemed, happy and so full of life, even after the father of her daughter leaving her. Her daughter, Riyanna Carna, has coped with the news well, and all she has asked for was a ride to New York. Many are confused by this request, but it was revealed in a note from Ariel to her daughter, that in case of an emergency, go with their young house helper, to New York, for reasons still unknown. After Ariel's death, it has been a revealed that this young star has had a lot more problems than she had let on. To start them off, her daughter has horrible dyslexia and ADHD, her parents had cut off all ties with her due to her early motherhood, and in letters from her to the father of her daughter, it seemed obvious that the father had left poor Ariel, for another woman. The actress, had in fact, been keeping all of this a secret from us. The police have also just recently reported that Ariel, had in fact turned to alcohol in this time of stress. Her happiness, beauty, and amazing personality will be missed by all. We give all our support to her daughter in this sad time. We hope that Ariel's legacy as an incredible actress will live on in our hearts forever._

_In loving memory of Ariel Isabel Carna, the girl who always said, "The Sky's the Limit."_

3 years later…

Riya sat on her bed with tears in her eyes. She had saved all the newspaper clipping and photographs of her mother in a small box. She put everything back into the golden box, then wiped her tears off her face and placed the box back onto the highest shelf. She quickly splashed her face with water then let the sun dry it as she stepped outside. It was 3 years after she had gotten to camp. 3 whole years! She had gotten to camp on her 10th birthday, and now it was her 13th. She still hadn't been claimed, and was beginning to lose hope on ever being claimed. She liked it here, hanging out with the Hermes kids who practically were her siblings… She still couldn't believe that Alexander, there house helper, was half-goat. She doubted that she would ever get over that.

Later that night, Riya sat at the campfire, disappointed. It was her birthday, yet all the claimed kids were becoming the center of attention. She crossed her arms and sat there bitter and jealous of the claimed kids. Riya felt a poke at her arm. "What do you want?" she snapped at the person next to her. The kid just replied, "Ummm, Riya, look up." And there it was, a glowing symbol of a lightning bolt floating above my head. I could hear the gasps and the whispers around me. Guess what mom, I'm a daughter of Zeus, she thought with a wide grin on her face.

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**A/N: So what do you think of Riya's backstory? Do you think you can piece together what happened? Just curious for the other backstories, should I write them in a similar manner (like with the newspaper and interview)? Also, I really hoped you noticed the titles of the newspaper…If you look closely you'll understand :) Just in case you were wondering, the resemblance to Jason and Thalia's mom was on purpose to kinda show how Zeus's demigod's mothers have similar fates. Please review and I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. 2 Demigods2 Monsters1 Quest Trouble 5

**A/N: Hey guys, so quick author's note today. So this is the first "non-Riya" POV chapter. I've decided to write from Jedd's POV because I feel like he hasn't had a major part yet, so here it is...**

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**Jedd's POV:**

Connor and I headed towards one of the girl clothing shops, or _boutiques_ as Mel informed me. It seemed like an appropriate place to look. I was really glad to finally get away from all those girls...nothing against them, but girls can be a little overbearing. People always question, how a child of Aphrodite like me could be shy around girls...but it's just the way I am. I could tell that we got a lot of strange looks from mothers holding babies and toddlers and a lot of adoring looks from teenage girls staring at Connor. I didn't mind not being noticed, but it was sure annoying how Connor winked at every cute girl we passed. Oh goody, I leave 3 girls, to return to 100 crazed teenaged girls, well isn't today going to be just peachy!

"Concentrate, Connor!" I said to him, as I nudged him in the ribs.

Before we left, Riya had shown all of us a photo of Calla. Apparently, Chiron had given it to her over Iris Rainbow Mail Express...or something like that. I usually don't listen to her full speeches. Jeez, that girl can talk. I still don't believe that she has ADHD, that girl can lecture longer than my history teacher! Calla was a very innocent looking girl. She had short mousy brown hair and greenish-hazel eyes. I was surprised that she was 13, she looked more along the lines of 11, yet according to Riya, that girl has had more trouble than some 100-year-olds have had to deal with. I looked through the crowds, yet I couldn't see any girl who looked even close to Calla.

Soon, we neared the customer service and assistance desk. Two very pretty "cheerleaderish" type girls was sitting at the desk, helping annoyed parents and teen return clothing items and such. I don't know why, but they gave me a bad feeling...I tried to shrug it off, but there was still something about them...

"So, should we stand in line, and ask if anybody has seen her?" Connor asked me as some random girl wrote a phone number on his arm. Connor planted a kiss on the girl cheek, then said, "Catch ya later, babe." as the girl walked off giggling and blushing.

I rolled my eyes at the sight then said, "Sure..."

The information desk seemed like a good place to ask for this kind of information. While we were standing in line, I decided to do a quick sketch of Calla so the information desk girls could have at least some sense of what she looked like. Painting and sketching had always been one of my hobbies. As I sketched with the pencil I had found lying on some empty counter, I couldn't help but think about my weapon. Something inside of me was itching to take it out. _O Grande Amor, _a gift from my mother. It looked like just a pretty paintbrush from the outside, but it was so much more...when I press a small button on it, it turns into a long spear with a jagged blade. To symbolize my mother, it has a crimson ribbon tied to the handle. I sighed...my mother and her "finishing touches".

The next time I looked up from my drawing, I realized that Connor and I were now almost at the front of the line, and Connor now had 2 more numbers on his arm.

"You're not actually going to call them, are you?" I asked him with a lifted eyebrow.

"I like to keep my options open...hey...that girl is pretty hot, think I can get her number?" Connor asked pointing to the blonde information desk girl.

"Whatever, let's just ask if they've seen Calla, then get the heck out of here, this place is making me nervous."

"You are no fun! How can you possibly be a child of Aphrodite?"

I was about to snap something back at him, but then I realized that the girls at the desk were motioning us forward.

"Hello, beautiful, mind if I ask you a question?" Connor asked with a wink at the blonde girl.

"P-p-please excuse my friend. Have you seen t-t-this g-g-girl..." I asked, my stutter coming back. I pulled out the sketch, and let them scrutinize it.

The blonde girl, with the name tag Brittany on it, passed the drawing her brunette friend, Kayla. Brittany whispered something to Kayla who nodded in agreement.

Brittany stood up and walked over to Connor. "So, handsome, why don't we head to the backroom and chat a little..."

Connor looked extremely pleased. I didn't like the idea of him going there alone with that girl, so I decided once they were far enough, I'd follow them...just in case.

Kayla, who looked all of a sudden really appealing, said, "So, while Brittany and Connor go "get to know each other", why don't we spend some alone time together?"

At first, I was very happy to have this gorgeous girl, be all over me, but then I sensed something was majorly wrong. How did she know Connor's name? I immediately snapped out of whatever trance I was in, then drew my paintbrush. I thought about it for a moment, then decided I had to make a plan.

"Hey, I have an idea, why don't I do a painting of you and Brittany, in the backroom."

I figured this way Connor and I would at least fight together. By now I had reasoned that these girls were most likely some sort of monsters. I ran the mythology through my head searching for the type of monster that would fit my situation. Gorgons...no. The Furies...obviously not. Empousai...yep, I had found the match.

Kayla smiled brightly, then led me to the backroom. When she opened the door, I saw the most horrid sight I had ever seen. And I have seen Harpies attack my house...

Connor and Brittany making out on the couch!

Kayla cowered in disgust, then screeched, "BRITTANY! YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO LIKE THE GUY! YOU'RE JUST SUPPOSED TO MAKE THEM THINK THAT YOU LIKE THEM!"

"I'm sorry! It's just that this one is really cute!"

Connor shook his head then looked from Kayla to Brittany to me, then asked, "What in Hades is going on!"

"Empousai."

Connor nodded as if this explained everything.

Kayla giggled then said, "So you've figured it out...this one is smarter than he seems."

"Ok, now time to feast on your blood!" Brittany said cheerily.

Then out of no where, they both transformed to their true forms: flaming hair, one donkey leg and one brass, barring fangs, and blood red eyes.

In a way, they reminded me of clowns, which made me shudder in fear.

Connor and I both drew our weapons.

Connor's golden Celestical Bronze sword glistened as it hit the light, as I noticed this, I immediately tried to get my spear to reflect the light and and temporarily blind the Empousai, so I could use my Pheromone Manipulation powers to manipulate their senses and render them loving and sweet for enough time to attack them.

"Connor, bounce the light off your sword to blind them, I use my powers to attack them!" I whispered in a voice so low they could hear me. My tone was calm, yet urgent.

Connor nodded to me then looked through the window, he positioned his sword then flicked his wrist twice, blinding both monsters.

The Empousai screamed and began running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to regain their vision.

I ducked out of the way, then used all my energy and concentration to numb their senses and make them loving and harmless...well long enough to attack. The downside of the pheromone, was that it only last 30 seconds, long enough to attack, but now kill. Another downside, this power zapped all my energy. I would have to rely on Connor to finish them off. As soon as I saw the two demons cartwheeling across the room, asking me what my favorite color was, I collapsed on the floor. All I could remember after that, was snippets of Connor stabbing Brittany and watching her disintegrate mid-cartwheel. Unfortunately, Kayla had regained her senses, and I was still exhausted.

I realized that I soon was going to faint, fall asleep, or just lose conscious all together. I could feel my eyelids heavily, so as a last resort, as Kayla was about to attack Connor from begin, I mustered up enough strength to throw my spear as far as I possibly could.

* * *

5 hours later...

I opened my eyes...everything was fuzzy, and a concerned Riya was looking at me.

"Hey guys, Sleepy Beauty's finally awake." Riya said to the group.

I looked around very confused. We were in the Love Chariot...well, now some sort of an Ambulance/Love Chariot thingie...

I could tell that although Riya was teasing me, she was extremely relieved to see that I was ok. Well...that's at least what her aura read. Another perk of being a son of Aphrodite. I could read auras.

My quest mates still don't know about this power, and I'd like to keep it this way. I'll tell them when I'm ready. Just not now. It's nice finally having a leg up. Riya has her leadership skills, Connor has his "golden boy" image, Harlow has her girl power vibe, and Mel has her "care-free-ness"...well if that's even a word. And I, Jedd, have my aura reading, so I finally have my "thing".

Reading auras was different for everybody, depending on the type of person they were. Riya is the easiest. the has a very vivid and clear aura. Probably because she talks the most out of all of us. She's very open and our a leader, so she's bound to be the easiest to read. But lately, her emotions have been very muddled...

I've noticed hits of pride, nervousness, bravery, and the strangest one of all...love. Love was the faintest of them all. It was so faint, she herself probably doesn't even realize it. I guessed that she might have started to care for us as family...but I'm almost 100% sure it's something else.

Next easiest are Harlow and Connor. They are slightly harder than Riya, but still easy to read. I can tell that although they both fight a lot, they both really do love each other a lot. I can also tell that Connor feels like he has some sort of responsibility to protect us...I guess that's what happens when you're the oldest. I can also tell that although Harlow builds up these barriers around her, she really does want to belong...but don't we all.

Mel is definitely the hardest, but I can kind of relate to her whole "being shy thing". Even though Mel is like a young care-free child, I can tell that she's been through a lot. Something tells me that she and Calla are really going to get along...hopefully we'll find her. No. We will find her. We will find her soon.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Sorry about such a long wait, I had horrible midterms. I hope you liked Jedd's POV. I took this as a opportunity to explore our boy characters more and a great way to show Jedd's opinion of the world. I also had major writing block when writing this, so sorry if it is extremely bad. I honestly tried my best! So please review and tell me what you think!**


	9. 5 Skeletons On Our Quest

A/N: Hey guys! So here's a special Valentine 's Day inspired chapter! This chapter is going to be from Connor's POV. I always thought Connor was going to be the hardest POV to write from, but I decided to tackle this challenge head on, so I hope you enjoy! See you at the bottom :)

Connor's POV:

"And so that's what happened…" I said when I finally finished explaining to Riya, Mel, and Harlow what had happened with the Empousai .

"So, what I'm hearing is that you made out with an Empousai…" Harlow said with an amused smirk.

"She was hot." I said in my defense.

All I got was a grossed out look from Mel, an entertained look from Harlow, and an extremely pissed off look and an eye roll from Riya.

"Ok, ok, so we have one more place to look in New York, Central Park. But we have to be careful here. There's an entry to the Underworld from there, so who knows what we'll be up against?" Riya said still looking annoyed. I swear that girl is going to have permanent frown lines when she gets old.

I raised my hand as if I was in school.

"What, Connor?" Riya spat at me.

"I just wanted to say you look very nice today."

It was so fun to annoy her. Riya is like the absolute perfect person to annoy. 1st, she's a big rule follower, 2nd she gets pissed off very easily, and 3rd she has the best reactions to being teased.

"Shut up, Connor."

I noticed Mel and Harlow giggling, so I sent them a satisfied smirk.

Mel and Harlow, well at least Harlow, know how I operate. I'm the total ladies' man, and nobody can resist my charms. Not even the invincible Riya.

"So anyways…all of us can't go. I need at least one person to stay behind with Jedd. He's strong, but it's better not to leave him unattended. Any volunteers?" Riya asked us.

As nice as Jedd was, I wasn't exactly in the mood to sit around while the other went looking around.

"I'll stay." Mel said quietly.

Riya lifted an eyebrow. It was obvious that she had realized that she would have to take both Harlow and I along with her. This meant we would all end up arguing to the death, or end up killing each other over something stupid. The end result: 2 dead demigods, me being the only alive one of course.

I could tell she was thinking. She got that serious look on her face that she always has, when she goes into deep thought.

"You know what, I'll stay back with Mel. It'll be fun to have so girl time with her, and besides, I'm a morning person. I'm not the best on night missions…" my sister said reasonably. "While I usually am the first person to volunteer for something like this, I think Connor will be more helpful."

"Thanks, Low-Low." I said to her. She hated that nickname, but she knew that I only called her that when I was sincere.

"Don't call me that!" she said in a sing-songy voice.

"You are going to leave me with HIM!" Riya said stunned, and slightly freaked out.

"I'm standing right here." I said.

"At least I have the decency to insult you to your face, Mailboy." She replied.

"It'll be my pleasure to return the favor, Flutterfly."

"Don't call me that." She replied with a look similar to the serial killers in horror movies.

Mel looked confused.

"It's what Connor called Riya when he first found out she could fly. Cuz you know, she's a daughter of Zeus and all…" Harlow explained for Mel.

"I understood that much, I just didn't realize you two were on nickname basis." Mel replied with an amused smile.

"Well technically, all of you guys are on nickname basis with me. Riyanna-Riya…" Riya said to us.

"Yes, Miss Smarty Pants." I replied with an imitation of one of Riya's hair flips.

Riya look now, made me miss the horror movie serial killer look.

Harlow placed a light hand on Riya's shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Connor will behave." She said calmingly. "You heard that Connor? I'm expecting you to be on your best behavior."

"Yes, mother…" I said sarcastically. Sometimes, I wondered how she could possibly be the younger sibling out of the two of us.

Mel came up to us then said, "Good luck, you guys…have fun." She said with a Mona Lisa, style smile, as if she knew something we didn't. She then opened the Love Chariot's door and stepped inside, with Harlow right behind her, leaving just me and a very annoyed Riyanna Carna.

"Sooo…how you been?" I asked with one of my famous smiles, that usually can make most girls melt. All I got from Riya was a silent glare. Why she didn't fall for any of my charms, was a mystery to all.

As we walked towards central park, an idea struck me. We could fly. It would be a lot less crowed and definitely faster.

"Riya, wanna fly to Central Park?"

"I'm not going to fly and carry you."

"I have my flying shoes, a gift from dad."

"Fine, but if you come within a two feet radius of me, I will not hesitate to strike you with lighting."

"Fair enough." I replied, but I knew she didn't mean it. Riya didn't like me, but I knew that she could not actually kill me, no matter how many times she threatened it.

"So, are the rumors about your 3 fatal flaws really true?" I asked, hoping to break our silence as I laced up my shoes.

She rolled her eyes in such a way, I couldn't tell. The thing about the eye roll, is that it's hard to tell lies and truths from it. For all I know, Riya might just have 1 flaw and made this whole story up to confuse people. It seems like one of those "think 10 steps ahead" types of plans she has. If she does have 3 fatal flaws, then all I can say is, more blackmail…

"Let's just go already. The less time alone with you the better." She said to me with her famous glare.

Without even looking back to see if I was following, she took off. It was a good thing it was dark, because I wondered what the mortals would have thought of a flying pair of kids.

Flying is an experience like no other…feeling the wind against your face, being able to look down on the world. And it was even more amazing against the gentle moonlight shining on us. The feeling is indescribable.

I flew up closer to Riya, she looked so serene and calm up here. With the wind in her hair, she looked…well beautiful.

I immediately shook the thought out of my head. I had at least 3 girlfriends back at camp, give or take a few. Who was I kidding? I don't even remember half of their names.

That's the thing with Aphrodite girls. They are pretty and fun for one night, but are too shallow for me to stick around for too long.

"Hey, there it is." I said pointing down as we flew over Central Park.

She nodded at me as we both headed down for a landing. After we were both on the ground safely, she immediately froze up.

"What. Is. That." she asked pointing to some clanking figures in the distance.

I squinted my eyes. Oh. My. Gods. Looks like we have some company…

"Please tell me those are not Hades's skeleton warriors." She said nervously. I could understand why anything to do with Hades could make her nervous, after she was a daughter of Zeus. These things made her nervous. The strange part was, that she and Mel got along just dandy. Well, in all fairness, I can't compare Mel to a bunch of skeletons…

"Those aren't skeleton warriors." I replied with a nervous grin.

"I wasn't being serious."

"So what do we do? Run?" I suggested. I hated running away from a fight, but we didn't know how powerful they were.

"Duh." She said as if it were obvious.

We both took off running towards a large tree. Upon closer inspection, we realized they were groups of mortals just sitting on the benches…kissing their "forever soul mates".

Riya looked as if she wanted to throw up.

"Think we out ran them?" I asked.

"I think so…" she said breathlessly.

She sat down on an empty bench, to catch her breath. It must have been extremely difficult to keep up with my running pace, as I was kinda a speed demon, but I don't like to brag. Who am I kidding, I'm ADHD, a child of Hermes, I love to brag.

"So, do you think Calla was here?" she asked me, her eyes looking for a symbol. "After, this is the perfect place for a daughter of Persephone…"

"Somehow, I think she was here…but I don't think she is anymore." I replied. "I just have a feeling…" Typically, my demigod instincts are right, so she didn't question me. That, or she had the same feeling as me.

"Connor…I think we spoke to soon…"

"What do you mean?"

Almost immediately, I heard the clanking of the skeletons approaching. They were going to catch us. I honestly did not feel like taking a permanent trip to Hades.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked me.

"No, you're supposed to be the plan person."

She looked around, looking for an answer. We were running out of time. Unless we started running, or hiding behind trees or something, we were going to get caught.

"I know, but it's too late to run or hide, we just have to…blend in…" she said uncertainly. All of a sudden, her eyes twinkled with an idea, then she shook her head.

"What's the idea?" I asked under my breath. I really hoped skeletons didn't have ears, because they were now close enough to hear us.

"I am so going to regret this." She said looking very nervous.

The next thing, I knew, I found a pair of lips upon my own, just as the skeletons passed by us. I could hear them clanking and chattering. I could tell that they suspected something, so I didn't dare break the kiss. Eventually, the skeletons felt awkward enough looking at all these kissing couples, so they left. Note to self: kissing makes Hades's skeletons uncomfortable.

The minute Riya thought we were safe, she broke the kiss.

She gave me a look of pure loathing then said, "If you dare tell anybody about this, I swear…"

"What's the big deal?" I asked. I mean it was just a kiss…right?

"What the big deal, you ask? I can't believe that I had to waste my first kiss on you." She said sounding a little upset.

"Come on, I'm not that bad a kisser am I?" I asked hoping to lighten the mood.

"Not my point."

"So you admit I'm a good kisser."

"I didn't say that."

"So here's a solution, don't make it you first kiss."

"What?"

"You hear correctly. I said, don't make it you first kiss." I said with a shrug.

"What?" she asked again.

And then some crazy force came over me and I leant in and kissed her. Surprisingly, she didn't slap me or push me away.

When I finally pulled away, I said, "Make that your first kiss."

"Connor freaking Jones…" she said, shaking her head, and for the first time ever, I saw her speechless. No witty comebacks or insults, just a confused smile.

I just smiled. See, nobody can resist my charms.

"Come on, let's go. I'm pretty sure Calla isn't here. Besides, the others are probably waiting for us…" I said as I took her hand.

She pulled her hand away, then with a faint smile, she said, "You still don't have my permission to hold my hand."

"Whatever, Miss Carna."

And with that, we both took off into the night sky. And all I could wonder was, why did it have to be Riyanna freaking Carna. She was so going to regret this in the morning.

A/N: Squeals! Is it just me or are Connor and Riya just adorable together? I'm wondering how she's going to react the next morning once she has analyzed the whole situation and realized what had happened. So, hope you like this chapter! Please review!


	10. 5 Showers, at Quest

**A/N: Hey guys, so we have some exciting news concerning our story. Princessgothicfull and I have created a blog for our story. On our blog you can post art, drabbles, stories, comments, songs, anything you want regarding our story. Also, I would like anybody who submitted a character to give me a celebrity to represent your character for the blog. For those of you who do not have a tumblr, and do not wish to make one, I have created a joint account so you guys can still post and look at the blog. If you would like to have the email and password for the account, just PM me, and I'll be happy to set you up. So now, without further ado, here's Mel's chapter.**

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Mel's POV:

"Mel, wake up!" I heard the voice of my best friend say.

I awoke to a rather pleasant surprise. Jedd had turned the Love Chariot into an RV of some sort. It was actually more like a mansion on wheels. I guess the best way to describe it was as if some fancy house had wheels attached with one room designated for driving. From a quick look outside the window, I realized we were moving. I had apparently fallen asleep on what looked to be a couch and I could smell breakfast being cooked from our kitchen.

"Morning, Har." I said rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Hey, Mel, how do you like your eggs?" Riya called out at me.

"I'll have them scrambled, please."

I had no idea she could cook, and by the smell of it, she was a pretty good one at that. I thought for a moment. The last time I had an actual home cooked meal, was with my aunt. My Aunt Joanne was a daughter of Hecate, therefore only my half aunt, but she is practically my mother. The smell made me nostalgic and almost immediately, my hand flicked up to my bronze, prisma charm necklace. My aunt had given it to me as a present when the monsters first realized I was a demigod. At first I thought it was just a simple necklace, but it is really a Celestial Bronze whip, fashioned with a studded handle and a pointed tip. Most people couldn't believe that a girl like me owned such a wicked and dangerous weapon. But you see, that is one of my strengths. Everybody always underestimates me, and it's extremely fun to prove them wrong.

Riya walked up with a plate filled with eggs, toast, sausage, and even a waffle.

"Where did you find all this stuff?" I asked shyly, shocked at the amount of food on my plate.

"Before we started moving again, Riya and I asked some nymphs nearby for some food. In return, they gave us these magic grocery bags. Basically you wish for a grocery item and it comes out of the bag. Pretty cool isn't it." Harlow explained for me.

She sat down next to me, then with a fork, stabbed a sausage and ate it. Harlow was extremely tall for her age, therefore, she needed to eat more than most girls her age. I didn't mind sharing with her, after all, Riya had cooked us a feast.

"Hello beautiful, miss me?" Connor said walking in with ruffled hair, and just a pair of sweatpants. He then walked over to Riya and kissed her head, only to be responded with a hard shove from Riya.

I laughed silently, Connor and Riya acted like an old married couple. It was so obvious that they liked each other, they were just to oblivious to notice it.

"Not a chance. And get a shirt on." She said rolling her eyes.

"Come on, darling, are you still going to tell me that you don't want to get with all of this." He said wiggling his eyebrows, and striking a male model like pose, that almost made me double over laughing.

"Shut up."

"Well that's no way to talk to your boyfriend…"

"You are not my boyfriend. I don't even like you."

"Well last night when you—"

She immediately cut him off with a sharp jab with her elbow to his gut. Whatever he was about to say, she really didn't want us knowing.

"I was going to say last night when you kissed me." Connor said clutching his side.

Riya looked as if she were about to murder him.

"You kissed Connor!" I said excitedly.

"We were near some couples kissing spot in Central Park and skeletons were about to attack us, so to blend in, I kissed him. It wasn't even real." Riya said extremely fast.

"That's not what I was talking about." Connor said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Whatever he was about to say, was cutoff, when a lightning bolt flashed outside. Riya gave him a deathly glare, and then marched away from us towards the driver's seat.

Now, I was extremely curious. I had to know what had happened between them. Something other than what Riya had just explain to us had happened, and I was going to get to the bottom of it…well, hopefully. Detective Mel, on The Case Connor's and Riya's kiss, after all, if they weren't going to admit their feelings to each other, a little meddling was in order.

I followed Riya's direction to see her talking to Jedd about how much longer this drive was going to be. I heard him say it was normally about 16 hours, but with the Love Chariot acting as a house, it will take 8 hours. Perfect, enough time to do everything and more. I giggled slightly when I saw Riya groan and slap her head in despair.

"Hey, is there a shower on this thing?" Riya asked Jedd, the both of them still not realizing I was standing there. I am remarkably stealthy.

"Give me one second, my mom taught me how to create a bathroom a little while back." Jedd replied. He squinted for a split second, still not taking his eyes of the road then went back to normal.

"Okay, thanks." Riya said standing up. I quickly ran ahead hoping to catch her in her room before she went to the bathroom.

"Hey, Mel." Riya said to me half-heartedly.

"Are you okay?" I asked her concerned; she wasn't acting like her normal self.

She she nodded. "I'm fine, it just was a long night, and I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Talk to me, you'll feel better." I said thinking that this is the best way to figured out what happened.

"It's hard to explain…" she said. Riya looked so much older than she actually was, I can tell she's been through a lot. I also noticed another thing about her: when she feels a strong emotion, like anger or happiness, the lightning bolt charm on her Camp Half Blood necklace glows, just a little brighter. Another thing about me, I pay attention to ALL the details.

"Okay, but I'll always be here for you if you ever to to talk. Harlow too." I said with a warm smile I saw her charm starting to brighten, so I knew to back off.

She returned me smile, as she picked up some fresh clothes that had been lying on her bed. When she gathered them up in her arms, a note fell off of it. I immediately picked it up and scanned its contents.

_Dear Miss Riya,_

_I hope that you find the clothes I picked out "appropriate" for your quest. You're a very pretty girl. Don't hide it with those horrible sweatpants and other horrablicious clothing. Athena informs me that horrablicious is not a word, but I'm sure you know what I mean, after all you are a smart girl too. Good luck on your quest._

_Love,_

_Aphrodite_

_P.S. Tell my son that his new haircut looks good. Also, that I love him_

_P.P.S I know that you are in—_

In what? Before I could finish reading, Riya snatched it out of my hands. Darn dyslexia. I wondered how Riya could read so easily. I knew she had dyslexia, but every time I've seen her reading, she looks as if she has no trouble at all.

Ok, so Riya was a dead end. New plan: ask Harlow for help when questioning Connor. Then talk to Jedd and see if he knows anything.

When I'm about to approach Harlow's room, I realize that she's talking to somebody.

"Did not." I heard Connor say.

"Did to." I heard her replied.

"Did not."

"Ughhh! Why do you have to be so annoying?" I heard Harlow reply. Those two and their arguments: Baseless, logicless, and stupid, but extremely entertaining.

I then heard footsteps nearing the door, so I stepped out of the way. As I was walking away from the door, I realized something. If I had my own room, why had I fallen asleep on the couch? And then it struck me.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"So, how are you feeling?" I asked Jedd, who looked as if he had been hit by a bus. Fighting monsters gave the same effect, more or less._

_"Better…" he mumbled. "Where are Connor and Riya?" he asked propping himself up against the ambulance style bed._

_"They left a little while ago. They're checking Central Park right now." I explained calmly._

_Harlow walked up then said, "Jedd, how much energy does it take to transform the Love Chariot?"_

_"None, why?"_

_"Then can you please turn this dump, into something better?" Harlow said. I would have never asked something like this, I tend to think more about others, rather than myself._

_"Sure, on one condition, no gas guzzlers. I hate big cars." He replied._

_Jedd squinted his eyes for a moment, then almost instantly, the squished up ambulance turned into a luxurious mansion on wheels._

_"Woah…" was all I managed to say, it was the biggest house/car I had ever seen…well that might not be much considering this was the first house/car I had seen._

_"Now go back to sleep Jedd, the last thing we want is a beauty sleep deprived Aphrodite." Harlow said with a slight chuckle._

_Jedd looked like he was about to protest, but obviously decided against it as he suck back into the stretcher/ couch he was now lying on._

_"Mel, c'mon let's go do something…" Harlow said the minute Jedd's eyes had closed._

_Boy, this was going to be a long night._

_End Flashback_

* * *

So, now back to business, once Connor had passed, I walked into Harlow's room.

"So, what was that about?" I asked her with a curious smile.

"Nothing, Connor was being just stupid…" she replied as if that explained everything.

"Ok, well, I kinda need to cash in a favor…" I said hoping she and Connor were still on talking terms.

"Sure, what is it?" asked an unsuspecting Harlow.

"I need you to ask Connor what happened between him and Riya last night."

"Didn't Riya explain everything earlier; I don't think there's anything else to the story."

"I think there is. Connor has been acting more romatic-y to Riya, and Riya's acting colder than ever."

Harlow sighed, "Fine, but you owe me one, no, you owe me two." She said standing up grumpily.

"Thanks, Harlow." I said appreciatively.

"The things I do for my best friend…" Harlow said with a light eye roll.

I laughed, "Well, considering everything I've done for you, I'll call it even."

"Even it is…"

I skipped out of the room happily, mission 1: Talk to Harlow-complete. Mission 2: Talk to Jedd-in progress. When I approached him, Jedd was still in the driver's seat driving.

"You know, it's not good to drive for so long, we should pull over and take a break." I suggested.

Jedd looked at me nervously, then said, "Yeah. Okay. Sure. Whatever."

I nodded, and then headed back to my room, we would have plenty of time to discuss Riya and Connor's relationship at the next stop.

* * *

I quickly found Harlow and Connor deep in conversation, and told them of our plan. I wondered what Harlow had figured out from Connor. I then saw Riya come out from her room. Her hair was still slightly damp, and she had done up her make up in a way that really brought out her eyes. She was in a clean white tank top with the words: Beware written across it and a pair of jeans. It was funny, how she looked like some super model while the rest of us looked like we had been hit by a bus. Hmmm, maybe we should consider taking showers more often, they apparently work miracles…

Riya practically takes like 5 showers a day. If the rest of us are lucky, we take 1 a day…but hey I guess every demigod's got their quirks!

"Hey guys, why don't we spend the night here?" Jedd said as we slowly came to a stop.

I looked outside the window, it was almost nightfall, and while our house on wheels was good for the road, I think a little time on non-moving land would be good for all of us.

Hotel La Florida, it looked quite fancy from the outside, so I assumed it would be a safe place to stay until we reached Orlando. I figured that we were on the border of Florida, so hopefully by tomorrow we could be in Orlando. A good night's rest will do all of us some good…plus this way the little mortal money Chiron had given us could actually come into use. These days, drachma bills were all the rage on Olympus, no mortal money necessary.

We each took a bag from the Love Chariot, and then headed into the building. The man at the front desk gave us a disapproving look. So Riya said, "Guys, let me handle this one."

I wanted to argue, and figure out a plan together first. But Riya's the leader, so what she says goes…plus I figured she had plan, but I couldn't help myself but need to know what she was going to do.

"3 rooms please." Riya said calmly.

"I doubt you are able to pay for it, young child. Now shoo, this is a hotel for sophisticated people." He said grumpily.

"My mother was THE Ariel Carna. I can afford it."

"Oh my goodness! Riyanna Carna! Welcome, welcome, please take the best suites in the hotel. I am so sorry for your loss." He said turning bright red. I had always thought that Riya looked familiar, but I assumed it was because she looked like Zeus. Ariel Carna…now that made sense.

"Hey, guys, I got us some rooms." A radiant Riya said.

* * *

**A/N: So that's Mel's chapter. Wondered why the flashback ended so abruptly? Well here's your chance to figure out what really happened. To promote the use of our blog, I want you guys to write the missing segment of the flashback. What do you think Mel and Harlow did, leaving Mel sleeping on the couch? All you have to do is write a quick drabble, post it on the blog (you may use the joint account if you wish, but then you must sign your penname on the drabble), and wait to see the results. The winner of the contest will have their drabble featured in this chapter itself, and be able to create one character to join the 5 for 2 chapters. The contest is open to anybody, even those who do not have characters entered. Happy writing, and please, please, please review!**


	11. 5 Breaths then onward with our Quest

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in FORVER! I have been swamped with work and some personal stuff, but here it is. I'm sorry it's so short, but I've been experiencing major writer's block. Enjoy...or not. Inserts evil laughs! MwahahAHAHA!**

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Harlow's POV:

"So, your mom is really Ariel Carna…" I asked Riya, hardly able to contain my excitement. All of us knew who she was, Ariel Carna was like an acting legend.

"Yeah…" Riya said quietly, so I decided not to push on the subject as we followed the man from the front desk to the "suite" that he had mentioned earlier.

Something about this hotel was off…it was just too…perfect.

"Here we are. And please excuse me earlier rudeness, I had no idea that it was you, Miss Carna." The man said slightly embarrassed.

"It's no big deal." Riya said through gritted teeth as she took the card to the room from him.

The man grinned wildly then walked off leaving just the five of us at the entrance of the suite. Riya tossed me the spare card, which I caught easily, then said, "New rule. If I'm not here, Harlow's second in command, got it? Yes, that means listen to your sister, Connor."

Connor looked up innocently, "Me? I've never caused any trouble in my whole life!"

I could hardly contain my excitement. We all knew that I hated not being leader, so it was really nice of Riya to at least let me be somewhat in charge.

"Thanks." I said with a smile towards Riya.

"Don't mention it." She replied as she opened the door.

As we walked in, my jaw practically dropped to the floor. Our suite was absolutely massive, with a lookout on to the beach too! Mel stiffened on the sight of the sea. I immediately knew why. She had always had a tense relation with her father, and she also had a major fear of drowning. I put my hand on her shoulder. She loosened up slightly then turned to me. It was funny how we could have full conversations just between our eyes. I guess it just goes to show you how close we are are. We are more than just best friends…Mel's my baby sister.

I looked outside the other window where we had a perfect view of where the Love Chariot was parked. After putting my few things on the ground next to a random bed, I felt a sudden wave of tiredness come over me. I felt my eyes getting heavier by the minute, so I rested my head on a pillow and slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

Eventually, I woke up feeling refreshed, surprised that I had none of those horrible demigod dreams. I must have slept really well because all my senses seemed to be sharper than they had been the whole trip.

I saw Riya in the kitchen chopping vegetable-like thing, while talking to Connor whom was actually cooking…

Wait Connor actually doing work? Something strange is definitely going on.

Besides Connor's odd inclination to actually be helpful, everything else seemed normal. Jedd was sitting by himself, sketching the sea from the glorious view from our ceiling to floor windows, and Mel looked as if she was trying to read a book. Her eyes were scrunched up, and I'm pretty sure everything still looked like alphabet soup to her. Seeing Mel reading reminded me of the first time we had met…

I still remember it as clear as day:

_I remember seeing Mel with a book in her hand and a Hello Kitty notebook and pencil in the other. Usually I would just ignore somebody like that, but I was just too curious. I had to figure why a demigod of people would be reading an actual book._

_"What are you doing?" I asked the girl with a slight smile to show her I was friendly._

_"Reading." She answered shyly._

_"I figured that, but how and why. I'm assuming you have dyslexia…"_

_"That's what the notebook is for. It has the Greek translations in it…" she replied. She was obviously not much of a talker, but there was something I liked about her, so I decided to get to know this girl._

_"I'm Harlow, daughter of Apollo by the way…"_

_"I'm Melo—" she said stopping herself. "I'm Mel. Just Mel."_

_"Nice to meet you, Mel." She obviously wasn't ready to talk about her godly parent, so I didn't push. Demigods tend to be overly emotional about that stuff. I wondered if this was the Fate's idea. Making me suddenly interested in talking to this random girl. Sure, I didn't have too many friends here, and I was only know as "Connor Jone's little sister", but I was okay with that. But it did feel nice to talk someone who didn't mention my brother for once..._

I quickly snapped out of my flashback, only to be jarred by the scream of a familiar voice.

"Harlow! Harlow! Harlow!" I heard a voice screaming. I immediately recognized it as my mother's voice. My mother! What was she doing here? How had she found us? She was in trouble. I was about to go run outside, but another scream stopped me.

"Harlow! Over here! Help me!" the other voice screamed. It was Connor's.

I peered through the window, only to see the all too familiar faces in the distance. What was going on? I ran outside. I had to rescue them. Where were Mel, Riya, and Jedd, were they taken too? If not, why weren't they helping me?

I looked to my right, and there was my mother bound in chains, a deadly mist slowly swirling around her, not letting her breath. As I looked towards my left I saw Connor. Unlike my mother, vines, rather than mist were twisting around him, not allowing him to move. As I tried to run to help him, I suddenly felt myself waist-deep in water, the water rising quickly. I screamed, only letting my lung get full of water. Coughing. Choking. This time I was the one screaming for help. I bobbed above the water, my whole body shaking. I saw a wave approaching, so I screamed one last time.

"Help me!"

The last thing I saw before the wave was my mother finally fully covered by the mist, and Connor nothing more than a large vine. My vision blurred and I couldn't breathe. Underwater, I coughed again and tried to gasp for air, only making things worse. Finally, I gave into the water. All the energy drained out of my. I felt the tide take control of my lifeless body as I let go of my last breath.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I am so evil. You probably all hate me right now. But guess what, you are going to hate me even more when I tell you the next two chapters are going to be our 1st back in camp chapter, featuring Chase's POV, and the next will be Connor and Harlow's backstory. So, you are just going to have to wait to see what happens with Harlow! Inserts more evil laughing MWAHAHAHA! Cough, cough...evil laughing is not good for my health. Please review!**


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